Go' my way
by Vanishing Trooper
Summary: An errant whim by an Random Omnipotent Being flings one who considers himself as Just Some Guy into a certain version of The Three Kingdoms Era of Ancient China. Nothing could possibly go wrong with this whole thing. Clearly.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Well, I wasn't really sure what I was thinking when I wrote this. I was kind of stuck with the next part of my fic so I decided to randomly start writing in order to get myself back on track. Eventually, one idea came to me and it just kept going and going and going. This is the result of that errant thought.

Disclaimer: My name is Joestar. Joseph Joestar. Please call me JoJo. PART 2. BATTLE TENDENCY. F-Yeah!

...

I opened my eyes and saw...my eyes were open.

I was apparently floating in an expanse of white light. A quick look down confirmed that I was doing so in my birthday suit. I had then concluded that I was either asleep and was just experiencing lucid dreaming or something more interesting was happening.

_Hello~!_

I blinked when an oddly cheerful feminine voice seemingly came from everywhere. I couldn't place a name on the voice itself because it sounded distorted yet was clearly female...or what I perceived as female anyway.

_Welcome True Believer~! It's not everyday that you managed to interest one such as I~! One who has the power of omnipotence~! You have been granted the once in a lifetime chance to change your life for the better~! A life of adventure, intrigue, and possibly love awaits you should you so choose it~! _

An ROB? That explains things a bit. I gave out a small chuckle when I realized that I had just been taken by an ROB who seemed to be intent on dropping me somewhere for her amusement. It was all that was keeping me from having a breakdown right there.

"A question please." I said with a raised right index finger.

_Sure~!_

"Are you the same ROB that's been 'nabbing Spacebattlers these past few months?" I asked her...or it. The sudden proliferation of SI stories in the board was directly attributed to ROB involvement in one way or another. A number of my fellow board members were dropped into various worlds and realities by the whims of supreme beings for various purposes. The same was apparently happening to me now as well.

_Not really~! It's a bit of a fad for us these days and the others said that it was fun to watch your kind go through those kinds of things, so I decided to try it as well~! A friend of mine directed me to the best place to find candidates for this purpose, which was somewhere called Spacebutles~! You're the lucky chosen one that I picked out from a pile of names while I was blindfolded~!_

"Yay. Go me. It's Spacebattles, by the way. So, do I get to pick where you put me?" I deadpanned before asking my question, not really liking the situation but knowing that there wasn't any way out of it at that point. I could panic and go into the standard mental and emotional breakdown once I get myself relative safety and the whole situation finally hits me like a sack of batteries.

_Oh, don't worry about that~! I've already picked a nice place for you to go on your adventure~!_

"You're not going to drop me there naked, are you?" I asked after remembering that particular specific about my current state of undress.

_Of course not silly~! That would be funny but it would also be mean~! You'll have a set of nice clothes on you once you arrive there~! In fact, I'll even give you a bonus to make it even more interesting~!_

"Bonus?" I repeated the last word in question form.

_Yep~! I know that this is kind of bending the rules a bit, but I'll give you any one item that you ask of me~! It can be anything so long as it is an actual item~! No powers or companions or summons or anything silly like that~! Just one item you think would help you out the most on your upcoming adventure~! So, what would you like to have~?_

That was a very loaded question. So long as it was an item, that ROB would provide it to me. My thoughts immediately turned to the pragmatic. What would have been the most useful thing to have if I was going to get dropped into some far off world probably unlike my own? My mind raced. I needed versatility more than anything, something that would not likely break or lost or stolen and would be useful in almost any situation. Eventually, my choices were down to the Gates of Babylon, Akemi Homura's Shield, and Kamen Rider Decade's Decadriver. I thought about it a bit harder and decided that the first two would be really hard to use in most situations since I was never trained to wield anything they can dispense nor were they made for my use. A rider belt on the other hand...

"Kamen Rider Decade's Decadriver please." I stated. A moment later the familiar buckle-slash-card reader-slash-transformation trinket appeared in my right hand. I gave it a look over and found that it looked exactly like that toy one that I owned back home but was heavier.

_So, are you ready~?_

"Do I have any other choice?" I asked rhetorically.

_Nope~!_

"Fine then. I just hope you drop me somewhere nice...with clothes on!" I said with a sigh before emphasizing the last part. All I got in response was an oddly haunting distorted giggle before I blacked out.

So much for me looking forward to watching 'The Hobbit' this week.

...

I groaned once I realized that I was more or less conscious and on the ground again. A familiar ticklish itch at the back of my neck told me that I was lying down on grass...or some really convincing turf. Thankfully, the feeling I was getting from the rest of my body told me that I was also wearing clothes. I opened my eyes and saw that I was looking up at some leaves and a clear blue sky. First impressions indicate that I wasn't in a post-apocalyptic world, so that's nice. I sat up and found that I was at the edge of a small lake in the woods. How oddly peaceful and nondescript. I stood up and saw my current attire.

A black shirt with a black leather jacket. Brown fingerless leather gloves. Comfy blue denim jeans and what seemed to be brown hiking boots. A quick kick to a nearby log confirmed that the boots were also steel toed.

As far as starting equipment went, I was actually pretty happy with what was provided to me. I then noticed that I didn't have the Decadriver on me. I looked around and it wasn't on the ground and I certainly wasn't wearing it. I then remembered that it just sort of just appears sometimes whenever Tsukasa has to transform. I checked to see if wishing for it really hard would make it appear. Strangely enough, it did, right there in my right hand where it first materialized. I guessed that I had to manually put it on if I had to transform then. I didn't really complain since the thing pretty much allowed me to transform into Decade anyway. That's something you don't experience every day. It almost made up for the inevitable hurt I was going to experience while I was here. Almost.

"Okay then. Let's see where I ended up in." I muttered to myself before walking off in a random direction to check for any random encounters. If that ROB dropped me here, then it should be in a place where something could happen. After all, why delay the entertainment when you can set up an opening number right off the bat?

My theory was proven sound when a random bush to my left suddenly started shaking with enthusiasm. I backed away from the angry bush as I wasn't sure it wasn't sentient yet.

"Ugwaaah! I'm stuck!" The now confirmed sentient bush suddenly complained with a voice of a little girl. I was very confused by that development. I kept my distance with the Decadriver in my hand just in case the loli-voiced bush decided to turn hostile at me. Normally, this would be the time when a protagonist would either tell the bush to identify itself or to warn it to stay away to prevent violence. I did neither. Both options were silly and would have more than likely just made the angry bush attack me. I simply stood my ground with my stance low, ready to either put on the Decadriver and fight or to run like fuck in a direction away from the hostile flora.

"Grrrrr! This stupid bush is tangling up my dress and-whaah!" All my planning and posturing seemed unnecessary as the angry bush threw up an angry little girl.

"I...how does that even..." I openly trailed off just as the aforementioned little girl struggled to her feet. Any further vocal response from me suddenly stopped after I recognized who she was.

Short young girl who looked like she was just starting to go into puberty. She had dark skin with eyes of sapphire and irises that curiously almost looked slitted like a cat's.

Her hair was light pink like that of cotton candy and was styled in an impossible twintail configuration where the end was looped back to the white ribbons that held her hair in that style. The result was that the twintail turned into twin hoops that defiantly gave the finger to the law of gravity.

She was wearing a two piece dress that really shouldn't be worn by a girl her age. Her top was a white and pink blouse with extra long gold trimmed sleeves that partially covered her hands. The blouse itself was cut short so one had a very clear view of her midriff. Her skirt was a short affair that had the same color scheme as her top and looked like it was designed after a flower. It was also short, so much so that any and all movement promised a panty shot at any given opportunity. Topping off the ensemble was a pair of thigh high white stockings and brown shoes.

There was no mistake. The girl who was now giving me her own curious, if measuring, look was none other than Sonshoukou otherwise known personally as Shaoren. Better known by most westerners by the name of Sun Shangxiang!

I was in the Three Kingdoms Era.

No...

I was in Koihime Musou.

Oh gods...

I was a _man_ in Koihime Musou.

I have never felt more inadequate in my entire life.

At least it wasn't Queen's Blade or Nanoha.

I then started to wonder if I was in the original Kohime Musou game, Shin Koihime Musou, the Anime, or some sort of strange Alternate Universe. I thought that was interrupted when Sonshoukou walked up to me with a curious look on her face.

"Excuse me. Are you a god?" She suddenly asked me with a tilted head.

"I...well, no." I admitted honestly with an odd sense of confusion as to the nature of her-

"Then you must be a devil!" The little tiger suddenly yelled out before kicking me in the left shin and running away in a random direction. It was during the time while I was knelt down and clutching the pained tibia she hit that I recalled an old adage said by a very wise man.

If someone asks if you are a god, you say, "Yes!"

With that in mind I forced myself to stand and went off after the little princess. My advance was impeded by my still hurting leg, that little girl could kick like a freaking football player! I more or less hobbled for a while until the pain wasn't as bad anymore. Unfortunately, sort of lost her because of how much ground she managed to get ahead of me while I was hobbling along.

Thankfully, the powers that be decided to throw me another bone by way of a scream that came from a nearby direction. I followed source of the scream and saw Sonshoukou on her backside and slowly backing away from a trio of bandits. I immediately recognized those funny looking bandits as recurring fodder in the anime that the cast kicked around on occasion for various reasons. Sort of like the poor man's Team Rocket of the show. That also must have meant that someone was supposed to pop in to save the little tiger at the most opportune moment. When neither her sisters nor anyone else from the Go faction appeared in a Big Damn Heroes moment, I realized that I might very well be the person I was referring to.

"Shit. Well, gotta start somewhere. Might as well make friends with some of the cast first to secure my life and safety." That and Go was always my favorite faction from Koihime anyway. I changed positions to make sure that my entrance would put me between Sonshoukou and the three idiots before I made my move. The Decadriver felt just a bit heavier in my right hand that I remember it being before but I just ignored it and took a deep breath.

"Let's get dangerous." I whispered to myself before running out and placing myself before the three would-be attackers.

"What the-?" The smallest one, the leader of the three as I remembered them, exclaimed after my sudden appearance.

"Mister Devil?" The princess called out in confusion at my actions. I grumbled before turning around and frowning at her.

"I'm not a devil." I corrected her before turning to the three bandits.

"I highly suggest that you three back off for now." I stated with as much confidence as I could, even though my heart was already racing at that point.

"And why should we do that?!" The tall skinny bandit to the right of the short leader asked before the three of them pulled out their swords and pointed them at me. I knew these three as nothing more than henchmen-level thugs who didn't even have names. Even intimidation should work against them if used correctly. I tightened my grip on the Decadriver and decided to take a page from the one who originally owned it.

"Chasing down and trying to capture a young girl in the middle of the woods is in bad taste. A real man would never stoop to something so low. Indeed, one cannot simply stay idle when one bares witness to such a thing happening right in front of him. I will protect this girl. That is why I am here. That is why I stand between you and her." I could almost hear the background music play from when Tsukasa does his speeches before transforming. The only thing left was...

"You weird looking person! Who the hell do you think you are?!" And there it was, courtesy of the lead bandit. I smiled and placed the Decadriver where a belt buckle should be located and felt the belt come out one end and secure itself into the other, holding the device secure. I then pulled at the handles of the buckle to rotate the center and give access to the slot where Decade's cards go in.

"I'm just a passing-through Spacebattler. Remember that!" I declared with a confident smile before reaching to my left hip in order to take out-

Huh?

I glanced down at my left hip where my left hand was clutching...or not clutching in this case. I looked to my right hip in case it was there instead but still saw nothing. My previously confident smile froze into an awkward one when I realized that I didn't have the Ride Booker. The device that served as Kamen Rider Decade's gun and sword. More importantly, it stored all of Decade's cards. Attack, Form, Final Forms, Final Attacks...and Kamen Ride Cards.

I know that this is kind of bending the rules a bit, but I'll give you any one item that you ask of me~!

_...any one item..._

_...one item..._

_...one..._

_...one..._

_...**ONE**..._

My mind sort of stalled when I realized what that statement really meant. One item meant one item. Not a set. Just one thing. The ROB gave me the Decadriver but it did not include the Ride Booker with it. When I thought about it even more, the same could have been said about my other choices as well. If I had chosen the Gate of Babylon, I probably would have gotten and empty one without anything inside. If I had asked for Homura's Shield then that was exactly what I would have gotten, just a small shield without any of the hardware Homura had been able to stockpile.

There was only one real response after such a realization. I calmly closed the handles of the Decadriver since I wasn't really going to get any use from it anymore. I then took a deep breath and turned my eyes to the heavens before letting it know exactly how I felt.

"ONOREEEEEEEEEE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs before stopping and turning my attention back to the bandits. The three idiots looked like they didn't really know how to respond to my sudden outburst and seemed to be contemplating on whether to attack or run away. Well, at least they were off balance. I gave out a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. I couldn't transform anymore so I had to deal with this another way.

"Can you stand?" I asked Sonshoukou, who looked every bit as perplexed and mildly frightened by my display as the three idiots. The little tiger hesitantly nodded before slowly standing up. I gave her a smile before turning back to the three idiots who looked like they were getting their bearings back.

"A Sp-Space...battler? What is that, some kind of warrior or something?" The big dumb fat bandit finally spoke up from his position to the left of his tiny leader.

"Don't think about too hard, you'll just get a headache." I automatically responded without thinking.

"Heh! I don't care who you are! You're still outnumbered! You better just surrender or run away! There's no point in dying for some child you just met!" The tall skinny bandit pointed out. They were really going for the generic bad guy thing, huh?

"On the contrary, gents. I know exactly who she is. Now, I see that we all started off on the wrong foot so I'd like to confirm a few things about the current situation, if you don't mind. The three of you are bandits, correct?" I pointed out before asking for confirmation about their current occupation while clasping my hands behind me in a classic deductive manner.

"Well yes! Of course we are! Haven't you heard of the legendary three bandits?! Our names are known far and wide and are feared just as much!" The lead bandit declared with great pride, while his two lackeys nodded along with his words. Well, technically they were right. They were about as feared as they were famous...which was not at all.

"I see. And I assume that your current nefarious plot is to capture this girl and hold her for ransom or something?" I nodded in acknowledgement before continuing my line of questioning.

"You're not as dumb as you look! If you know that much then you should already know not to get in our way!" The tall skinny bandit said before idly waving his sword at me. Joke characters or not, those were real swords made of real metal and were real sharp and could stab me really well. I was, and still am, very adverse to experiencing a close encounter of the stabby or slashy kind.

"Normally, I would certainly agree with you. However, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to make sure of a few things before I grovel before you and beg for your forgiveness for my insolence. Would that be acceptable?" I said while gesturing to them with my right hand with a nod and a smile. The three of them looked at me oddly before turning to each other and nodding back to me. I gulped and clasped my hands together behind me again to stop them from shaking. I was mostly just doing my best to bullshit my way through this until help shows up or I managed to convince the bandits to back off and give up. Obviously, I wasn't really liking my chances.

"Your basic plan was to kidnap this girl and hold her for ransom, correct?" I asked again and got a nod from all three in response.

"And the three of you know who this girl is, right?"

"Of course! That's Sonshoukou! The youngest daughter of the Tiger of Jiangdong!" The tall skinny bandit replied.

"So that means that you know which family she belongs to?" I asked and once again got a nod from the three bandits.

"And where are we right now?" I asked while spreading my arms out to indicate the immediate area. If Sonhoukou had been running on foot with that kind of attire then...

"Are you hurt in the head? We're in the middle of Jiangdong!" The fat bandit said with surprising force. It took me off guard for a moment but I managed to recover after a moment.

"So, let me get this straight. You kidnap the youngest sister of the Son family for the sake of getting some money from her family. However, you are still in well within their territory and have not made any effort to get out. You are in the tiger's lair with only three men while her family, friends, and their soldiers are probably on the warpath and sweeping across the countryside as we speak looking for her." I explained to them slowly while making sure to emphasize the important bits. The loss of color in their complexions as I went on confirmed pretty much what I had originally expected.

"You guys didn't really think this through, did you?" I voiced out my suspicion with a raised brow while rubbing my chin with my right hand. I was doing backflips in my head as I saw them look more and more worried about their situation. Just one more push...

"If you run now, you might be able to get away with your lives." I suggested before pointing to the woods behind them. They scowled at me before whispering amongst themselves in a conspiratorial manner.

"Hey, mister Demon Rider Mask." Sonshoukou then called out while pulling at the right sleeve of my jacket.

"Ummm...yes?" I awkwardly asked after seeing her so close. Mainly because of what she was wearing and the fact that I've played the Koihime Musou games and have subsequently seen and read through her ero-scenes there.

"Why aren't you fighting them? I thought you were going to beat them up after you showed up and made that speech." The little princess asked while making her disappointment at the lack of action known. I thought about it for a moment before remembering an old quote, ironically enough, from the very man her father claimed to be the descendant of.

"The greatest victory is the battle not fought." I stated in a poor faux Chinese accent. Doing so made me wonder why I was hearing everything in fluent English though. I decided not to think about it too hard, lest I get a headache because of it, and just blamed the ROB for it.

"What? How can you win if you don't fight? That doesn't make any sense!" Sonshoukou asked before stomping her foot down in frustration to demonstrate her confusion. I guessed that she hasn't been taught Sun Tzu's works yet at her age.

"Hey!" We both turned to the sudden call from the bandit lead and saw that the three of them looked like they were able to finally decide on a course of action.

"Here is what is going to happen! The girl comes with us and you run away!" The lead bandit yelled out while waving his sword between me and Sonshoukou who then hid behind me. I gave out a hum at his declaration and shook my head.

"Were you three listening to me-" I started to say before I was abruptly interrupted.

"Of course we were! There is no way we'll be able to get away from the tiger's forces like this even if we run away now! The only thing left is to use her as a hostage to make sure we get away without getting killed!" The tall skinny bandit yelled out in a bit of a panicked voice. It looked like they finally realized how boned they were at that point.

"That's not going to work, you know." I said with a frown and a sigh.

"Neither is just running away empty-handed, now hand over the girl! We promise not to kill you in gratitude for letting us realize how stupid this entire idea was before it was too late." The bandit leader yelled out before making a promise that I didn't expect to get from them. Didn't really help with the whole 'keep the little girl from being kidnapped' objective I had.

"I see. And there is no way for me to be able to convince you otherwise?" I asked them while adjusting my footing as slowly as I could.

"Nothing personal, just making a living here." The big fat bandit responded in an apologetic tone.

"I understand. In that case..." I said with a nod before trailing off and turning my back on them. I looked right at Sonshoukou's eyes and considered my options. Walk Away or Fight? The worried and pleading look that the little tiger was giving me answered that question for me. I couldn't just walk away from this now. Naturally, I couldn't fight three other grown men who probably have experience in killing soldiers and other bandits. Again, joke characters or not, these guys are still alive and doing their profession for a reason. With that in mind, went through the revised list of choices I had in my head.

**-Bring Sonshoukou back to her family.**

**-Bring Shaoren back to her family.**

**-Bring Sun Shangxiang back to her family.**

Well, that settles that.

"Hey!" I heard all three bandits yell out in surprise and anger after I picked Sonshoukou up in a Princess Carry before going into a dead run away from the three bandits.

"It didn't have to be this way!" I yelled back at them as I struggled to get any kind of decent running speed. The shoes I had on helped a lot but weaving between trees and other obstructions was a challenge especially since I was carrying a little girl in my arms.

"Come back here!" The rather angry screams from the bandits behind me did not really help either.

"Hey! Where do you think you are touching?!" Nor did Sonshoukou complaining and thrashing around in my arms. Shirou Emiya I certainly was not.

"Do you mind? You can complain to me later! I'm kind of busy here!" I said before breaking out of the woods and ending up falling over on the ground.

"Augh!" I grunted after barely managing to turn my upper body around to prevent myself from falling right on top of Sonshoukou. I landed on my right shoulder and didn't break the fall so the momentum on top of the additional weight involved made the experience rather painful. Thankfully, my clothes prevented me from getting scraped up from the impact though.

"Oww! Where did you learn how to run?! You should treat a daughter of the Sun family with more delicacy, you know! You're awful at it!" Cheeky little kid. I was a bit surprised that she could pronounce the word 'delicacy' without tripping up though. Sonshoukou then proceeded to stand up and straighten up her clothes and brush off some dirt and leaves. I stood up as well and saw that we were in some sort of dirt road. I took several deep breaths to calm myself down. At the very least, we should be able to walk to a town or something so long as we don't-

"Ha! You thought that you could get away, did you?!" I groaned after seeing all three bandits appear right on cue from within the woods. I then blinked when I saw that all three of them managed to catch up without much issue.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" I put up my hands in protest at how fast they were able to catch us. It was actually enough for them to give pause and actually wait for me to speak. Huh.

"Okay, now the two of you, I have no problem believing that you can catch up." I pointed between the bandit leader and the tall skinny bandit in turn.

"But how the hell did you managed to keep up? I was having a hell of a time just avoiding trees and rocks and shit! Are you some sort of wizard or something?" I asked the big fat bandit, who proceeded to point to himself in confusion.

"Wait, you're a wizard?" The lead bandit asked his companion with a mix of awe and confusion.

"I am?" The big fat bandit asked with a tilted head.

"So you are a wizard?" The tall skinny bandit asked.

"He's a wizard?" Sonshoukou asked me with another tug of my sleeve. I had long since facepalmed at the sequence of events that just happened. I had forgotten that those three were considered as joke characters for a reason as well.

"No, he is not a wizard. It was just a-" I started in a tired tone just to be interrupted once more by the sounds of galloping horses. A lot of galloping horses.

"Halt or prepare to die a swift bloody death!" A strong but clearly female voice declared a moment before an arrow struck the ground between the bandits and us. We all turned to the source of all the noise and had very varied reactions.

The bandits looked absolutely terrified.

Sonshoukou looked absolutely ecstatic.

My expression fell somewhere in the middle.

There, riding towards us with the fury of tigers were soldiers of the Go faction. Most prominent were the ones at the head of the formation. The most obvious ones there were Sonshoukou's older sisters. Sonsaku already had her sword out and looked like she was ready and willing to bite someone's head off. The middle sister, Sonken also looked angry but not as much as the Little Conqueror. I also arbitrarily noted that she still had long hair. As expected, Shuuyu was riding at Sonsaku's with her trademark cold and calculating expression. Sonshoukou's unofficial guardian Ryomou was riding a bit behind the two sisters with Sonken's bodyguard Kannei to one side and the cat loving warrior Shuutai to her other side. However, the thing that surprised me the most was the ones in the very front of the formation.

The one who shot the arrow was Kougai, the oldest female member of the faction and one of the three great Milfs of the series. The one riding next to her was someone I've only seen once. It was in Danbooru as a concept art page for the first Koihime Musou OVA. She looked like an older version of the three sisters and that meant one thing.

"I am Sonken! Known by my other name as Wentai! I am the Tiger of Jiangdong! You cretins will pay for taking my daughter from me!" She roared while brandishing a very large sword in our general direction. Yep, looks like I got dropped in an AU where Sun Jian hadn't been killed yet. I wasn't sure how to feel about this.

…

Now if would all excuse me, I'm off to watch The Hobbit! Cheers!

Please R&R~!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Yeah...If you own a PS3 and/or a PC then you should probably already know where I disappeared to all this time. I needed to keep my writing skills up so I decided to roll with another one of my side projects while I continue to pen up the next part of Be Careful What You Wish For bit by bit. Today's guest is my Koihime Musou fic~

Please enjoy~

Disclaimer: BIOSHOCK INFINIIIIIIITE!

_..._

_Welcome, True Believers~! Previously on 'Go' my way, an intrepid Spacebutler was chosen by the bestest Omnipotent Being in the totality of existence to be whisked away to a fa~r off land where MY EVIL IS LAW! _

_Ahem! _

_Err...I mean, where adventure and excitement awaited him~! I chose a very special place in the multiverse to place him~! The world of Shin Koihime Musou~! A tweaked one, mind you~! I'm not one of my fellow Omnipotents who derive pleasure and entertainment through the suffering of my subjects~! Instead, I have my own way to get my jollies of the non-toe curling variety~!_

_In any case, the Spacebutler was able to rescue a little princess from a group of bandits and was successfully able to bring her back to her family~! He'll be treated as a hero and praised by all the lovely women there~! He's pretty much set for life now, right~?_

_Let's find out, shall we~? _

_Excelsior!_

_... _

I am fucking dead.

That was the predominant thought tumbling around in my head as I watched Sonken Wentai dismount her horse after Sonshoukou ran up to her.

"Mama!" The little tiger shouted when she reached her mother and was engulfed in a warm embrace.

"Shaoren! My little Shaoren! Thank the heavens! Thank the benevolent heavens that you are safe!" The Tiger of Jiang Dong momentarily ignored me and the three bandits who originally kidnapped her daughter in favor of embracing her little cub. Honestly, it was rather touching to see. Unfortunately, Sonshoukou's elder sisters, the retainers of the Son family, and their many soldiers were all still looking at us like they were contemplating the most satisfyingly painful way to kill us. The Sun family matriarch turned her gaze towards the bandits and me before narrowing her eyes dangerously at us.

"Non." Sonken Wentai called out and Rikuson immediately dismounted her horse and ran up to her lord. Despite the very real terror I was feeling, I could not help but give a moment to be thoroughly confounded as to how the green haired, busty, airheaded woman was supposed to be Lu Xun. Hell, Ryomou, more famously known as Lu Meng, looked younger than her!

"Take care of Shaoren for me. I have business to attend to." She said before gently pushing Sonshoukou in Rikuson's direction.

"Of course, my Lord." Rikuson automatically said with a bow before reaching for Sonshoukou's hand. The little tiger surprised everyone though when she shook her head and scampered away from her mother and her usual babysitter in favor of...running back to me.

"Shaoren!" Her mother yelled out in obvious fear and worry. I thought that all hell was about to break loose but everyone just froze up when Sonshoukou reached out and took my right hand.

"Come on, Mister Demon Rider Mask Guy! I'll introduce you to my family!" The little tiger enthusiastically said while pulling me in the general direction of her bewildered family. After all, it wasn't really normal for a little girl to happily try to introduce someone she refers to as some sort of demon to her family after she was kidnapped.

"Umm...Sonshoukou?" I called out to the little girl with no small sense of uncertainty.

"Shaoren! Just call me Shaoren!" My jaw dropped at the utterly casual way she just told me her True Name and her insistence for me to call her as such. I knew how big of a deal True Names were in Koihime Musou. Hell, Chouhi and Bachou spent the very first episode of the second season of the anime to drive that point home. They weren't things one would just give out to strangers like candy.

"Right...Shao...ren. Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked after momentarily hesitating to call her by her True Name.

"Don't worry! You look presentable enough to be introduced to my Mama!" Shaoren assured me after clearly getting the wrong idea on why I was hesitating. I looked up from the little tiger and saw that both Sonsaku and Sonken Chuubou had taken their place on either side of their mother. Sonken Wentai and her two daughters looked at the scene with guarded confusion. Rikuson stood behind them and simply continued to look worried. Kougai and the rest of the Go retainers still looked like they were all ready to rip me to shreds if I so much as twitched the wrong way.

"Shaoren, what is the meaning of this?" The little tiger's mother slowly asked in an uncertain tone of voice.

"This is Mister Demon Rider Mask Guy Black! He rescued me from those bandits after I kicked him on the leg when he said that he wasn't a god even though there was a really bright light at the place where I found him!" Sonshoukou happily introduced me to her mother and sisters. I silently thanked her for introducing me as someone who helped her instead of being associated with the people who took her from her family. I then blinked when I noted that she had been adding more and more words to the name she had been referring to me with. Also, a bright light? Must have been when that ROB dropped me off here. That must have also been the reason why she asked me if I was some sort of god. Hell, that was probably the whole reason why we even ran into each other in the first place.

"He...rescued you?" Sonsaku asked while looking between me and her youngest sister.

"Uh-huh! I thought he was going to beat them all up!" Shaoren said with several nods before pointing to the three cowering bandits. If I wasn't scared for my own life at the time, I may have felt sorry for the three sods.

"But he didn't and just started talking to them! Then I asked him why he wasn't beating them up and he said something like 'The greatest victory is the battle not fought'. I didn't really understand it because how can you win if you don't fight, right?" She continued while looking up at the sky in contemplation. Shaoren probably did not understand the meaning of that proverb but the rest of her family sure did. Her mother and both of her sisters showed varied expressions of surprise before immediately locking their eyes on me. I had no idea what was going through their heads but I vehemently hoped that my death was not part of their thought process at the time.

"Then he suddenly picked me up and ran away until we fell down and all of you showed up!" Shaoren finished her rather abrupt summary of the events surrounding our first encounter.

"So he had nothing to do with those men who took you?" Sonken Chuubou asked her younger sister.

"Of course not! Are you some sort of dummy?! I mean, look at him!" Shaoren yelled imperiously at she who would eventually lead the kingdom of Go into the conflict between the Three Kingdoms. Sonken Chuubou and the others did indeed take another good look at me for a while.

"I understand. I apologize if I behaved rashly. I had not realized that my daughter is now safe due to your personal efforts." Sonken Wentai acknowledged her daughter's words before apologizing to me for jumping to conclusions with a respectful nod. I sighed and gave out a dismissive wave with my right hand.

"Don't apologize for something like that Lady Sonken Wentai. You're a mother. I would be worried if you didn't react the way you did after finding your daughter that was kidnapped." I told the woman. The Tiger of Jiang Dong blinked at me before her expression changed into something akin to that of veiled amusement.

"Hoh? So you know of me then?" She asked me with a confident smirk when I immediately managed identify her. I mentally sighed in relief at the fact that she didn't look like she was going to try to gut me anymore.

"You sort of made sure that it was well known as soon as you got within yelling distance. The sword was a very nice way to show the emphasis on the point you were trying to make. Very direct." It took me a moment to realize what I had just done. I snarked at the freaking Tiger of Jiang Dong!

"I mean-" I started with the full intent of furiously backpedalling due to my previous statement. Thankfully, she did not seem at all that offended considering that she actually started laughing.

"You have an interesting way with words, Demon Rider Mask Guy Black. I find that I don't dislike your directness." Sonken Wentai finally said after catching her breath. Her mirth suddenly vanished as quickly as it had appeared when she looked back to the three still cowering bandits. I was actually surprised that they didn't make a break for it already.

"Arrest those men and take them to the dungeon. I would like to have a long and meaningful conversation with them later on about their actions this day." Her words clearly weren't ominous at all! The Tiger's order was immediately met with compliance by her soldiers as the three bandits were quickly surrounded and restrained.

"Wait! Wait! Please! Mercy!" The tall skinny bandit begged as he weakly struggled against several men who actually looked like hardened soldiers instead of undertrained and unskilled redshirts. Then again, Sousou's Black Rider cavalry unit was rather badass in the anime as well.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The fat bandit apologized over and over again without giving any resistance to his captors.

"You can't do this to us! Hey you!" The lead bandit complained while struggling against the soldiers before calling out to me. I blinked at the man before pointing at myself in wonder if he really meant to call me.

"Yeah you! Aren't you going to do something?! Can't you help us?!" The lead bandit yelled at me as if I was part of their group.

"You have to save us! Didn't you want to help us earlier?!" The skinny bandit followed up. The fat bandit did not say anything but was staring at me with tears in his eyes and doing a rather good sad puppy dog face. I glanced around and saw that Shaoren and the rest of her family were giving me measuring looks. Probably trying to figure out where exactly I really stood in this whole situation. I sighed before scratching the back of my head with my right hand.

"I already tried, but you guys just didn't listen. I told you that you three could have just walked away if you would have cut your losses and left Sonshoukou with me." I reminded the three of them. Shaoren frowned at me, probably because I referred to her by her Formal Name rather than her True Name, but it just didn't feel right for me to let those three hear her True Name.

"That's ridiculous! The Go army would have still searched and captured us if we let her go!" The tall skinny bandit argued and I couldn't help but sigh.

"Sure, probably. If you would have let her go on her own. The problem with your reasoning is that I was with her back then. See what I mean?" I asked and felt my urge to slap rise when they just gave me blank looks. I gave all three of them a flat stare before continuing.

"The primary objective of Lady Sonken Wentai in this whole mess would have been to make sure that her daughter is found safe and back in her arms. Everything after that would have just been optional bonus objectives, which include pursuit and capture of the perpetrators of the kidnapping. If I was able to bring her back to her family then I could have convinced them to lay the matter to rest for now since bringing Sonshoukou back home would be more important than chasing after you." I elaborated and saw their eyes widen in understanding. I had omitted the possibility of Sonken Wentai delegating the task of finding the kidnappers to Kougai or Sonsaku since I didn't really want to dive into that train of thought because it would have taken too long to explain to the three bandits. I then sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose before looking at the restrained bandits with an annoyed expression after remembering their course of action.

"Instead, you decided to try to use a little girl as a human shield against the righteous fury of her worried family. I'm not the most virtuous person around but what the fucknuts guys?! There's a thing called standards! Instead of walking away you chase after me and the little tiger until we eventually find ourselves in our current situation." I continued before giving them a sad frown.

"There's nothing any one of us can say or do to save you from what is to come. Personally, I'd rather not get in the way of the very beautiful lady with the very sharp sword and the very capable looking army from getting her own justice on the people who took her little girl away from her." I concluded with a shrug despite the horrified and desperate looks that the three bandits were giving me.

I was serious on all points too. Sword and army aside, it was insane that Sonken Wentai looked as amazing as she did even after having three daughters. Seeing concept art of her was one thing. Seeing her in the flesh was just...wow. That more or less shows where the three sisters got their looks from.

"B-but..." The lead bandit trailed off but it was obvious to everyone that even he knew that there was no way out. I sighed and decided to take a page from the most prevalent lesson that most media had been conveying during the late two-thousands and the early twenty-tens.

"Our actions always have consequences, no matter how large or small. We all have to own up to the choices we make in life, especially if it ends up affecting other people." I said with a slow shake of my head. It was then that I felt a hand on my right shoulder. I turned to the person the rather feminine looking hand was attached to and saw Sonken Wentai giving me an approving look.

"Well said, mister Demon-so-on-and-so-forth. Indeed, anyone who would claim to have any shred of honor would not shy away from the consequences of their choices and actions. For a demon, you are quite honorable yourself." I was momentarily stunned at the fact that the Tiger of Jiang Dong actually gave me a compliment. Voluptuous mature genderbent alternate version of the Tiger of Jiang Dong, yes, but still!

"You realize that I'm not actually a demon...right?" I clarified. I wasn't really very honorable either but I knew better than to say that out loud in front of everyone. Sonken Wentai simply gave out a very womanly giggle before shaking her head and slapping my back a few times with her right hand. The action nearly made me stumble since I didn't expect the woman to hit me as strong as she did. It was a very sobering reminder that, despite her bombshell looks, the woman who was being friendly with me was more than likely capable of breaking every bone in my body.

"Of course you're not a demon, silly boy. Though, I am rather interested to know the real name of the young man who saved my dear Shaoren." Sonken Wentai good naturedly answered with a smirk before asking me for my name.

Oh dear...

As one Harry Dresden had emphasized several times during the course of his rather eventful life: Names have Power.

The answer I would give to Sonken Wentai's question would be what she and everyone else would likely end up calling me for the duration of this thing. I could give them my real name or I could come up with a Chinese name that would adhere to their conventions. No, I take that back. I don't really look Chinese...well...neither did they but you get the idea. Should the name I provide inspire confidence? Awe? Fear? Admiration? Or should I just give her something silly like Dongs REO Speedwagon?

"Are you alright? I am asking you for your name." The tiger repeated her question while placing her hand on my shoulder again when I didn't respond. I looked into her eyes and blinked before responding.

"Well, I admit that I am not from this land. Clearly." I started while spreading my arms wide to give notice to my clothes.

"Indeed. I've actually been wondering how you found yourself so deep in our lands without prior notice. I would have expected that news of a traveller wearing such exotic clothes would spread throughout our villages and towns." The Son Family Matriarch agreed with my sentiment before voicing her curiosity as to how I had arrived in her territory without alerting anyone.

"I already told you! He appeared in a flash of light!" Shaoren yelled out in frustration. Everyone sort of looked between me and the little tiger in obvious confusion and scepticism. I was actually honestly glad that they didn't just take the story in face value like Kannu and Chouhi did with Kazuto's arrival in the original Koihime Musou game. Of course, that also meant that it would probably be harder for me to bullshit my way through certain situations.

"You know, coming from someone else, that does actually sound absolutely absurd. However, I'm afraid that Shaoren is correct in her claim. I really did suddenly appear in a flash of light." I corroborated Shaoren's claim causing everyone to look at us like we were sick in the head.

"Believe me, even I still don't understand how I got here." I drawled since it was true. Well, I knew that an ROB decided to toss me here for shits and giggles but I didn't actually 'understand' how I got here.

"I see. Setting that aside for the moment, what should we refer to you as? My daughter has gifted you the honor of giving her True Name. I would expect that you would return the honor, at least something more civil than Demon Rider Mask Guy Black." Sonken Wentai responded with a slight frown. It was clear that she was being all civil and ruler-like but she was also starting to run out of patience with me.

"Well, my name doesn't really adhere to the naming conventions of your land. I don't really have Formal or Courtesy name, certainly not a True Name. I just have a name. Hell's bells, I don't even know if there is a way for anyone to properly write it in your language now that I think about it." I said more to placate the tiger.

"Fair enough. However, understand that your response did not answer my question." She seemed to accept my reasoning but she was still obviously waiting for me to give a name. I mind started racing on what to do. I could obviously give my real name but, like what I considered earlier, Names Have Power. I wasn't really keen on giving out what amounts to my True Name it if meant exposing me to a curse or something. It wasn't that I couldn't trust the ladies of Go, it was more like I couldn't trust anyone else who might catch wind of my name.

Yeah, it sounds stupid but Koei more or less had the accepted history that Sun Ce went down because the mystic Yu Ji dogged him with a curse. This wasn't really Dynasty Warriors or the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games but I wasn't about to take any chances.

Mental Note: 'Keep Sonsaku away from the sleazy looking Taoist named Ukitsu.'

Heh, I was supposed to keep her away from the Big Bad of 'Otome Tairan'? How should I...no, I'm looking way too far ahead with this. Name first. I quickly rifled through some names off the top of my head that could work.

Leon Magnus? Awesome name from an awesome guy but he turned traitor and died redeeming himself. Not really something I want to end up doing to anyone in this setting.

Kevin J England? No way I can pull off a good enough British accent to do Bardiche's voice actor proud.

Larry Foulke? Betrayed his wingman and pilots he flew alongside with to side with terrorists. Amusingly though, the best outcome I could possibly hope for in this setting would be one where Shoku, Gi, and Go would en up freely being united in peace without having to go to war with one another for decades that wouldn't even accomplish anything in the end. Just a waste of a lot of good people who would have been able to do a lot of good things for each other if they weren't so busy trying to kill one another.

'It's a disgusting squabble over who gets the largest share of the pie, and that's why it needs to end.' As Gault-One eloquently put it.

Heh, A World With No Boundaries.

Well, Kazuto managed to pull it off via going for a Harem End with all the cast members in the fandisks so maybe...

No. Digressing hard like I'm on a Spacebattles thread. Name. Now.

Lex Luthor? Evil. Genius rich awesome badass, but evil nonetheless. Also, bald.

Kai Leng? Evil and has silly eye augmentations. Also, killed Thane.

Fionn mac Cumhaill - Pronounced as Finn McCool? Very awesome but probably a little bit 'too' awesome for me to live up to.

Duncan MaCleod? I was neither immortal nor did I have inside me blood of kings.

Oxnard Montalvo? Nah, no chance of angry Quasi-Canadian Beavers appearing. Then again, anything was possible if it happens. Having Stump along to help with various things would have been great though.

Wait. I was looking at this whole thing wrong. I didn't have to take on a name I couldn't live up to. I just needed to make a new identity instead!

I still needed a name though. It needed to sound foreign enough to corroborate my claim of being from a far off distant land. It also needed to be something that people could actually pronounce. I decided to go with a bit of a twist on my own Spacebattles username since that was how the ROB tagged me in the first place.

"Very well, my name is Schwarzmilan Greifvogel. You can just call me Schwarz." I provided with a smile after deciding on the name.

"You are correct. Your name is something I have never come across before...Schwarz. Does it hold any sort of meaning though? Most names I know tend to symbolize for something." Sonken Wentai asked after trying to get a feel in saying my newly adopted name.

"It actually does. Schwarzmilan is the name of a species of medium sized birds of prey from where I am from. Greifvogel is the name used as to classify birds of prey in general like Falcons or Hawks. In local terms, I guess the closest equivalent to my name would be Black Kite Raptor. Just Black Raptor if you'll just be calling me Schwarz Greifvogel." I explained to the woman. Yes, I just more or less just used the German translation of my Spacebattles username. If there was anything Super Robot Wars taught me, it was that most names could sound much more awesome if translated into German.

"Hoh? Named after a bird of the hunt? I wonder why you would be hesitant in sharing a strong name." The Tiger of Jiang Dong asked me. Her previous expression of amusement returned after I gave the meaning of my name.

"Shwats? Your name is Shwats? Wahahaha! That's a silly name!" Shaoren then proceeded to laugh at my new name after completely mispronouncing it.

"That's why. In case people end up saying it wrong and-or make fun of it because it doesn't sound like anything they were familiar with." I responded to Sonken Wentai with a sigh while Shaoren continued to laugh until Sonken Chuubou scolded her for making fun of the person who saved her.

"Indeed. Regardless, it is a pleasure to meet you Schwarzmilan Greifvogel. You have done a great service to me and to my family this day for rescuing my daughter. I wish to invite you back to our city where we can properly honor your deed and discuss an actual reward for you. Do you accept, Schwarz?" Sonken Wentai formally greeted me before inviting me to what I assumed would likely be some sort of feast of banquet in my honor. That seemed to be sort of the thing back then whenever someone did something awesome. She also said something about a reward too, so there's that.

Normally, this was the part where the standard protagonist would humbly try to decline the offer and say that knowing that Shaoren was safe and back with her family was reward enough. He would then be somehow convinced to accept anyway due to anything ranging from a plea from Shaoren herself to outright overt seduction from Sonken Wentai or Kougai.

"Honestly, I am a stranger in a strange land sent by a strange being through strange means. We can talk to each other normally just fine but I'll bet my pants that I probably won't be able to read your written language, so travelling on my own would be stupid. I honestly don't have anywhere to go or any clue on what to do from now on." Instead, I chose to simply tell them the truth of my current situation. Acting cool wouldn't do anything productive for me at all. Sonken Wentai and her daughters, even Shaoren, looked at me more seriously after my admission. It was probably because of how tired I sounded when I said it.

"I...apologize, I didn't mean to dump all of that out in the open like this." I said with a sad smile.

"Think nothing of it, Schwarz. I cannot begin to imagine what it even be like if I would be suddenly ripped away from my home and family before being sent to a far off land by myself." Sonken Wentai waved off my words with a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you, Lady Sonken Wentai. I gratefully accept your invitation and thank you for your hospitality. It will at least give me something to take my mind off my current situation as well give me a starting point on what to do next." I said with a low bow. At the very least, it seemed that I have earned enough of their trust to be freely invited back to their home city.

"Very good! Have those three sent to the dungeon once we arrive. I will deal with them at a later date. Now, bring Schwarz a horse he can use for the ride back to the city." Sonken Wentai declared imperiously and was met with affirmatives with everyone. However, the latter part of her declaration made me go into a bit of a panic.

"W-w-wait! Lady Sonken Wentai!" I called out to the tiger as she elegantly started to walk back to her own horse.

"Yes? Is there something else you wished to discuss?" She asked me with a curious look on her face.

"I...I don't really know how to say this but...I don't really know how to ride one of those." I sheepishly admitted before glancing away in embarrassment.

"What do you mean? Do you not have horses where you come from?" The Tiger of Jiang Dong asked with obvious confusion and a hint of amusement. I winced at her questions before giving out a weak laugh.

"We do. I just never really had any need to learn how to ride one. Thus, I'm not really liking my chances on riding a horse on my own." I answered with a shrug. There was only one time I had ever been on a horse, and that was back when I was a kid visiting a local zoo.

"I see. That is a bit unusual, but I suppose that is sort of a theme with you. Very well, I shall just have you ride with one of my men instead." Sonken Wentai responded with an understanding nod. I felt a lot better about that since the riders of Go seemed rather experienced. They also had armor that is not as spiky as Sousou's Black Riders. Oddly, someone else gave their input on the matter.

"Mother. If you wish, Master Schwarz can ride with me." Sonken Suubou offered while looking between me and her mother.

"Oho~? Does my daughter Renfa fancy our guest?" Sonken Wentai asked her second daughter in a teasing tone that caused a few chuckles from the soldiers present.

"Wha-Of course not! Just simply wanted to show my own gratitude to him for saving Shaoren!" Sonken Chuubou vehemently started denying the teasing allegations of her mother.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." I automatically said before covering my mouth with my right hand when I realized what I had done. Sometimes, I hated my knack to spew out references.

"What are you talking about?" Surprisingly, it was Sonsaku who asked that question. She had walked closer with an amused grin on her face, no doubt fully exercising her heavens given right as the eldest sibling to tease one of her younger sisters.

"It's a line from a play from where I'm from. It basically refers to one who insists so passionately about something not being true that people suspect the opposite of what one is saying." I explained the meaning behind one of Hamlet's most famous lines.

"Well cultured, are you? Though, you are brave to imply such a thing about a daughter of the tiger." The future Little Conqueror stated smoothly. Despite the fact that I really should have just dropped the subject at that point, I still ended up barrelling through the course of the conversation like a Hug Train that had no brakes.

"Imply nothing. I'm pretty sure that most people here already had that thought rolling around in their head." I deadpanned and earned a few more chuckles from the people present. Well, except for the bandits...and a certain young woman. Sonken Chuubou let me know how she felt about what I said by slapping me in the face before walking away.

"To think I thought him valiant..." I heard her mutter as she walked away. I also saw Kannei silently glaring daggers at me, so that more or less showed that I was already on the bodyguard's shit list. Damn, I messed that up pretty well.

"Not very skilled in handling women, are you?" Sonken Wentai commented with a wry smile on her face. I rubbed my cheek and turned to the tiger and found it a bit odd that she didn't seem all that offended for what I had done to her daughter. Then again, she was a grown woman and probably thought that her intervention was unnecessary.

"You're observation is accurate. Not really used to or sure on how to deal with strong, beautiful, and confident women so I just default to treating them like I would anyone else. The results obviously vary." I conceded with a shrug before indicating my reddened cheek.

"That at least explains your odd behavior. Rather refreshing to meet a man who would see us as equals rather than something to be protected or be intimidated of or to simply lust after." The tiger said good naturedly but I decided to hold my tongue. That statement was a proximity mine field and I knew better than to risk getting blown to shit because of my big mouth.

"You will still need a ride back to the city though. You may ride with me instead if you wish, considering that my sister is likely less than open to you at the moment." Sonsaku stated with a grin. I gave out a hollow laugh to humor her before bowing to the eldest daughter.

"I will be in you care then Lady-" I barely able to clamp my mouth shut before I ended up blurting out her name. Since I was supposed to be someone from a far off and distant land, suddenly saying Sonsaku's name out loud without prior reference would have probably raised a few eyebrows...and probably more than a few weapons as well.

"Sonsaku. Known by my other name of Hakufu. Eldest daughter of Sonken Wentai, the Tiger of Jiang Dong. Well met, Schwarzmilan Greifvogel." Thankfully, Sonsaku attributed my abrupt pause to not knowing her name at all. This led to her formally introducing herself with the amount of HAM I would expect someone of her stature and charisma to possess.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Sonsaku." I responded with a wide smile. Introductions done, everyone got ready to head back to their home city.

Shaoren ended up riding with her mother despite the little tiger's protests. It seemed that despite her earlier show of confidence and bravado, Sonken Wentai was unwilling to let her daughter out of her sight for the immediate future. The three bandits had already set off to the city with the infantry unit that Sonken Wentai brought along. Kind of overkill for a search party but I wasn't about to point it out to anyone. Kougai also seemed to make it a point to stay close to her long-time friend and Lord. Sonken Chuubou made sure to completely ignore me due to her earlier showing of insensitivity to a young woman's emotions. Kannei was riding alongside her and was making sure to keep an eye on me at all times. Looks like her trust would be the most challenging one to gain. Sonsaku led me to her own horse before mounting it and gesturing me to do the same. It took me a few embarrassing attempts to get on the horse, attempts that earned me a few giggles from Sonsaku as well as a couple of frustrated grunts from her horse. Everyone else seemed to settle into a loose formation around Sonken Wentai and her daughters.

"You were not joking when you mentioned that you had no experience riding a horse." Sonsaku jabbed at me after I finally got on the saddle and tried to get myself in a more comfortable position.

"Like I said..." I trailed off after I instinctively tried to grab onto something to stabilize myself and ended up lightly placing my hands on Sonsaku's shapely hips. Obviously, I immediately jerked my hands away and ended up flailing my hands in the air to prevent myself from falling off her horse. That got me another bout of laughter from the Little Conqueror.

"You don't need to feel so reserved, Schwarzmilan. We will be riding swiftly to make it back before the sun sets so you will need to hang on to something." Sonsaku put forward a very valid point and she didn't seem to mind the idea of me putting my hands on her so...

"If you say so. By the way, you can just call me Schwarz if you want." I said before reminding her of the shorthand for my new name.

"No, I think I shall be calling you Schwarzmilan. A noble name taken after a bird of prey, one known as a Black Kite was it? Yes, I find myself oddly becoming fond to the idea of such a name." Sonsaku responded with a shake of her head before looking back to me with a coy smile. I could feel my heart race in reaction to the display and I was sure that I was already blushing beet red at that point. Any healthy male would likely have a similar reaction considering the proximity between me and Sonsaku at the moment.

"Just try not to get your hands on anything...delicate...else we will end up having problems." A new voice said from our right side. I turned to the source and saw a slightly displeased looking raven haired, glasses wearing, tanned beauty. Right, I should have seen that one coming. The person looking irritably at me at the moment was none other than Shuuyu Koukin, Sonsaku's best friend and strategist. They were also more or less lovers in all incarnations of Koihime Musou, which pretty much explains her current behavior towards me.

"Yes ma'am." I promptly stated while holding my hands up to clearly show that I wasn't getting my hands on Sonsaku.

"Oh, don't be like that Meirin." Sonsaku pouted at her friend before turning back to me with an amused smile.

"This is Shuuyu Koukin, a strategist in our army and my oldest and dearest friend. Forgive her if she's like that, she just gets overprotective very now and then." Sonsaku introduced her best friend to me formally before talking about her like the woman wasn't even there. I took a breath before looking at the tanned woman and responding. I had already given Sonken Chuubou and Kannei a terrible first impression, I didn't want to shove my foot in my mouth twice in a row.

"A pleasure to meet you Lady Shuuyu Koukin. As you may already know, I am Schwarzmilan Greifvogel. I you may refer to me as Schwarzmilan or simply Schwarz if you wish. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was taking advantage of Lady Sonsaku's kindness." I greeted her before apologizing for what she perceived I was trying to do. Of course I wasn't, but that wasn't really the point. Shuuyu stared me down for a few more moments before it was interrupted when Sonsaku gave out a rather deliberate cough. The two friends stared at each other for a moment before Shuuyu gave out a tired sigh. They could also apparently hold conversations just by gazing into each others' eyes, definitely lovers in this timeline too.

"No, it's fine. Sheren is right, I was just being overprotective. You did save Shaoren, so that means something to us. It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Schwarzmilan Greifvogel...though I think I will just call you Schwarz." Shuuyu admitted before returning my greeting.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm fairly certain that Lady Sonsaku could -and probably would- cut me to bits herself if I deliberately tried anything untoward with her." I pointed out and got a good laugh from both women.

"That is a very good point, Schwarz." Shuuyu said with a soft smile.

"Make sure you hang on tightly Schwarzmilan!" Was all the warning I got from the Little Conqueror before she spurred her horse on to a quick gallop. The sudden acceleration almost threw me off the horse and I ended up putting my arms around Sonsaku's waist in panic. Judging from the laughter from both Sonsaku and Shuuyu, I concluded that I just got trolled.

...

"Fuwaaaah~!" I exhaled as I entered the room provided to me by my gracious hosts. There was much partying and feasting in celebration for Shaoren's safe return and my contributions on making it happen. I didn't know where the three bandits were taken but I was quite certain that I didn't want to ever know what the dungeon in this place looked like.

"Are you going to be alright?" Kougai asked me with a tone of amusement as she followed me inside the room. The trusted friend and retainer of Sonken Wentai was the one who guided me to my room after the festivities died down and I showed that there was no way that I could possibly walk to my room on my own.

"I haven't eaten that much in one sitting in a while." I provided before flopping face first on the bed.

"I also haven't had that much liquor...ever." I added before rolling over so I was lying down properly.

"What? From what I saw, you only had like three cups of wine." Kougai pointed out as she sat down to my right on the bed.

"Not much of a drinker. Mainly because I never want to find out what kind of drunk I am. My family already had enough has drunks. I don't want to end up adding to the tally." I explained. I wasn't really 'drunk' at all, not really. However, I wasn't used to having alcohol in my system so I was already pretty damn buzzed even after just three cups of wine.

"That's fair I suppose. Though, since you are at least relatively clear of mind, I want to have a long private talk with you." Kougai said in a slow and -not sure if it was the alcohol- sultry tone.

"What about?" I drawled, forcing myself up to a sitting position so I didn't end up falling asleep. I turned to Kougai and saw something in her eyes that immediately cleared up my clouding mind.

It was steel.

"I want to know your real story. Why you are here and what your intention is. I want you to give me a very convincing argument as to why I shouldn't kill you right now." The woman said in a very serious and very icy tone and expression.

I was probably still a bit buzzed since the first thing in my mind was wondering if I should have been terrified or turned on by this.

…

Please R&R~


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